I am just returning from a 2 week spring break vacation. I feel very fortunate to have had this time to relax and be with my family. We love to travel and this year decided to go to San Diego, California for 10 days. Not unlike most of the other families who were traveling on similar spring break adventures, we brought along our "gadgets." My 11-year old had her iPod and I had my iPad and laptop. I really wanted to "disconnect" on this holiday as I was beginning to feel that I am constantly plugged into some device and I also wanted to distance myself from the labour strife that has been plaguing BC teachers since September. I brought the iPad, I told myself, to keep my 3-year old occupied on flights and in the hotel room in the evenings. I brought my laptop, I told myself, because I had to finish an assignment for my LIBE 465 class and it was due during my vacation. The good thing is, I finished the assignment and then did manage to disconnect from much of my web world. The bad thing is, I am now paying the price.
I did not put my devices away and not use them at all, quite the contrary. I was still checking Facebook as I had friends in the Dominican and Hawaii and I was curious about their adventures. I checked Twitter for updates on Bill 22 legislation, and I checked my email to prevent a backlog of emails I knew I would have if I didn't check daily. But I mostly used my devices for pleasure. I read 2 books on the iPad, an experience I am actually really enjoying despite thinking I would never give up reading "real" books. I am also enjoying doing crosswords, playing Angry Birds and reading audible books with my daughter, and playing a "little" (wink, wink) solitaire every now and then.
While on vacation I tried to remember what we did "before" - before we could be connected 24/7? We used to go on holidays and get the post office to hold our mail. We missed calls or if we had an answering machine, the messages were recorded for our return. We used to leave names of hotels, flights and destinations with friends and family "in case of an emergency." We used to just wait until we got home to hear about what other people were doing. Before we were connected 24/7, I would not have gone on vacation if I was taking a course because I would have been in a classroom and could not have handed my assignment in electronically. (Although I will say I had a bit of panic when it took 10 minutes to upload my assignment to Vista, so I then spent the next hour uploading my 40 page PowerPoint to my course blog and my library web site "just in case.")
I realized how much I enjoy being "connected" while on vacation. We would scout locations online for our next day's outings. We planned meals by searching for Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives locations - yep, we ate at 2! And we "chatted" with family and friends to share our stories. The difference between this vacation "connectivity" and the regular connectedness I have during my work life, is that this was more for fun. I wasn't researching a tool or searching for an article to support my "findings." I was using my web 2.0 tools in a different way. The irony is of course, that I am still using these experiences to support my learning in this class and in my library. I am never so far removed from my work life that I don't think about it at all. Everywhere I go I think about how I can apply "this" to school, to teaching, to my library. One of the first things I did this first period in English 12 was share my holiday stories with my students. Even though my connectedness was different, it was, and now I know, always will be, relevant to my work and home life. I am realizing that the web and the tools it has to offer, are part of me now, they aren't just something I am trying or experimenting with.
I think another thing I am realizing is how much I need an iPhone.... I know, my husband is laughing now too. It really was just a want before but now I realize I need one if I want to maintain and move forward in my use of technology and web 2.0 tools. The one element I am missing is the portability of my devices. My iPad and laptop are only useful when I have Wifi and the iPad is still a bit cumbersome when hauling "kid gear" on a vacation - I don't need to be worrying about the iPad too. I would like to be able to record ideas, snap a photo to remember a sign or information, make a list of things to remember, or even look up information about something unexpected on the trip. I would also have ideas for this blog or my other course that I wish I could have make note of quickly rather than waiting to get back to the hotel later in the day.
While it was nice to disconnect from my course work and job action, I am regretting this decision now. I did do quite a bit of course work but did not update my posts. I will now "pay" for this decision over the next couple of days as I upload my posts to my blog, edit the ones I have saved, and go back to add images, tags, and links. I realize that it is not possible to be completely disconnected from my web 2.0 world, despite the need to relax and relieve some very real stress. This does make me wonder how our 24/7 connectedness is contributing to that stress - it is very different when you can't do something because you are away, and choosing not to do something even when you can while you are away.
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